John Paul George always wanted to know about his father and his experiences in Vietnam, but he could never learn any detailed information about him. Now, on the verge of getting married, he stumbles upon a misplaced box of his father’s things and discovers a lone letter that could clue John Paul in on some more information. He begins to search for the sender of the letter, but is unsuccessful until he accidentally reaches a cryptic character that interests John Paul just enough to make him go and see him in person. Once he finally meets his new acquaintance, the two decide to embark on a redemptive journey to reconcile both their pasts and their fathers’ memories.

Production Quality (2 points)

PureFlix has improved over the years on production quality. The camera work is decent and the sets seem pretty good. The war scenes are the strongest parts of the movie, as they are actually not done in a cheesy manner. The soundtrack is just average. However, the editing tends to be confusing. Some scenes are wasted and drag on too long. This is an improvement, but not quite there yet.

Plot and Storyline Quality (1.5 points)

This plot would have been improved with more inclusion of Vietnam War scenes. The historical characters needed to be better developed and the present-day characters needed to be less-emphasized. The present day plot is erratic and random; one subplot is introduced and then discarded with no real explanation to its purpose. Some dialogue and subplots seem to just fill time. None of the characters are believable, especially Wayne. Perhaps the worst of all is that one character uses the same actor over a nearly forty year timespan, without aging appropriately. In short, as far as PureFlix movies go, the plot is business as usual.

Acting Quality (1 point)

PureFlix needs acting coaching, plain and simple. David A. R. White’s attempt at comedy falls flat. Kevin Downes is not cast into the appropriate character. Candace Cameron Bure and Rebecca St. James seem like Christian celebrity tack-ons, with neither one serving any real purpose. Stephen Baldwin is passable, as are the historical characters, making them the only possible elements here.

Conclusion

In summary, PureFlix has improved a hair from the usual ways. The production quality has improved, but that’s about it. A potentially meaningful plot was once again wasted and the acting was once again sub-par. Fatherhood is an important topic, as is the Vietnam War, but both seem like extra additions rather than the main points. Maybe next time things will improve.

Post navigation

2 thoughts on “Faith of Our Fathers [2015] (Movie Review)”

I couldn’t have said it better, Pureflix’s movies would be much better if the actors were coached correctly. You analysis is correct as far as their movie plot lines go, they’ve come up with some good ideas but haven’t executed them in the right way.

David A. R. White is particularly guilty of over acting. His portrayal of this character becomes cheesy very quickly. There is a way to act as an eccentric or colorful character without going over the top.

It also doesn’t help that the dialogue gives DARW and Kevin Downes very little to work with. For these reasons this movie really struggles to hold the viewers attention.